UPSET! Josesito Lopez Beats Victor Ortiz

And this is why we fight the fights. Was Lopez as heralded as Berto? No. Did he care? No. He just broke Ortiz' jaw. Why we love boxing. (Hohan)

LOS ANGELES-After a slow start Riverside's Josesito Lopez came rumbling back to beat former world champion Victor “Vicious” Ortiz by technical knockout after the Ventura boxer suffered a broken jaw on Saturday.

Those Lopez uppercuts were vicious.

“I knew I had to fight the fight of my life and I did,” said Lopez.

The former junior welterweight contender Lopez (30-4, 18 KOs) moved up to welterweight for the first time and slowly adjusted to the hard punching Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KOs) before an excited crowd of more than 7,000 at Staples Center. The two Southern Californians were not there to slip punches.

After a slow first two minutes Lopez attacked the body and opened up some lanes for punches to the head. Both traded but it seemed Lopez landed a solid right at the bell in round one.

Ortiz connected with some bombs and looked to end the fight, but Lopez rallied with a right hand that seemed to wobble the Ventura southpaw in round two. From that point on both looked for the knockout, but were still cautious of each other's power.

That ramrod jab of Ortiz' was connecting solidly in round three. When he tried to follow it up, Lopez unleashed a four-punch combination that nearly dropped Ortiz. But the southpaw bomber recovered well.

Ortiz had a rather easy fourth round as he pounded that jab and some lefts through Lopez's guard. Toward the end of the round Lopez unloaded a right uppercut and missed with a left. Ortiz won the round.

The fifth round saw Lopez get hit behind the head illegally by Ortiz and referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight for the illegal infraction. Lopez was allowed several minutes to recover and then the fight resumed with a blur of punches. Each tagged the other with good blows.

“There was no way I was going to quit,” said Lopez about the brief rest needed to recuperate from the illegal punch to the back of the head. “I just needed time but I was never going to quit.”

Ortiz's raw strength was the difference early in the fight. He seemed to land the harder blows but was unable to crack Lopez's resilience. Both got tangled several times with Ortiz tumbling over in round six, but it was not ruled a knockdown.

Lopez Uppercuts

Several Lopez uppercuts turned things around in round seven. The Riverside fighter motioned for Ortiz to throw some more as he opened up his own attack. Ortiz took the round off.

Round eight saw Lopez use the uppercut perfectly whenever Ortiz decided to attack. Though Lopez scored the harder blows Ortiz used a stiff jab to score points through the three minutes. But it was apparent that Lopez's uppercuts were making Ortiz think.

A huge counter left by Ortiz sparked his attack and he looked to corner Lopez, but the Riverside fighter opened up with a furious combination then motioned for Ortiz to throw some more. Both unleashed more blows with Lopez looking to land that last bomb.

Before round 10 could begin referee Jack Reiss motioned that the fight was over to the shock of the crowd. Many felt beforehand that Lopez was over matched but the ending was clear as the Riverside boxer proved resilient and victorious.

“I have a big heart and I'm a real man,” said Lopez who was battered and bruised. “I had to chop him down. Today was my day.”

Ortiz was seen on the television screen in the locker room after the fight with his head down.

“Yes, Josesito busted my jaw. I had my mouth open and he broke my jaw,” said Ortiz. “It happened early in the round (nine).”

Sitting in the audience was WBC junior middleweight titleholder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez who had already agreed to meet Ortiz in September. Now that fight is scuttled and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said he's looking to match Lopez, the little known fighter from Riverside with Mexico's hero Alvarez.

“Lopez fought with all of his heart,” said Schaefer.

Other bouts

Argentina's Lucas Matthysse (31-2, 29 KOs) connected with a three punch combination to knock out Mexico's Humberto “Zorrita” Soto (59-8-2, 35 KOs) at the end of round five to become the number one WBC junior welterweight contender. Referee Raul Caiz stopped the fight after a left hook and two consecutive rights floored Soto. He beat the count but was unable to continue. Matthysse seemed the stronger fighter after a sub par first round. From then on he slowly broke down Soto and eventually became the first to knock out the sturdy Mexican fighter who was moving up in weight. He had been a lightweight world champion.

“These things happen in boxing, I thought it would be my night, but tonight was not my night. Just a bad night,” said Soto. “I'm not retiring.”

Matthysse was ahead on two of three score cards.

“I felt his punches but I didn't feel them at all. Tonight I was the best man and I deserve the shot at the world title.”

Houston's Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (18-0, 9 KOs) knocked out Denis “Mamma's Boy” Douglin (14-2, 8 KOs) at 1:12 of round five in a junior middleweight fight. Both exchanged vicious blows throughout the contest but a right hand caught southpaw Douglin walking in and it was lights out. The New Jersey boxer tried to get up to beat the count but his legs failed him and was counted out for a knockout by referee Wayne Hedgepeth. Douglin had his moments but Carlo found the right moment to connect with his power right hand.

Omar Figueroa (18-0-1, 15 KOs) knocked out Tijuana's Alain Hernandez (18-11-2, 10 KOs) with several left uppercuts that forced the referee to stop the junior welterweight fight at 1:34 of the first round. Figueroa, who trains in Indio but lives in Weslaco, Texas, was taller, faster and hit a lot harder than Hernandez. A barrage of Figueroa blows snapped Hernandez' head back in the first round and referee Jose Cobian decided to stop the onslaught.

Coachella's Randy Caballero (15-0, 8 KOs) knocked out St. Louis prizefighter Jamal Parram (5-6-1, 4 KOs) at 1:50 of round five. It took Caballero a few rounds to figure out Parram's southpaw style and penchant for holding but once he connected to the body it was over. A Caballero left hook to the liver in round five immediately dropped Parram for the count. He rose and was met with another barrage and took a knee. Parram beat the count and encountered another barrage and took another knee. Referee Jose Cobian decided to stop the junior featherweight fight.

Nevada's Michael Finney (9-0, 7 KOs) slugged it out with Mexico's Joel Vargas (3-7-1, 3 KOs) in a battle of who blinks first. Both traded bombs in a fight where both attempted to prove who was the harder puncher. Defense was not allowed in this back alley brawl. Finney was awarded the decision after four bruising rounds 40-36 on all three judges cards, but Vargas proved his point in the junior middleweight bash. He can brawl.

What a night of fights...great action! Soto/Matthysse played out like what I thought Ortiz/Lopez would and vice versa. More Matthysse and Lopez pleaze...those guys are must see TV. Can't blame Ortiz for not continuing, his jaw looked pretty bad. I've already read a bunch of comments on other forums from internet tough guys saying he's got no heart and shoulda kept on going...what a bunch of BS. Looks like Chavez/Martinez will be the only show in town in september.

amayseng says:

What a great night of fights.

Lucas is a stud who should be undefeated. Hope he gets a title shot soon.

And Ortiz and lopes was excellent.

Ortizs thudding shots against lopes razor shots.

I had Ortiz barely up before the stoppage.

I've never had a broken jaw so I can't fault victor for quitting

Ortiz just can't catch a break.

the Roast says:

Agree with Ultimo and Amayseng, two great fights, just what we needed. New Evil Vic is more athlete than fighter. It seems to me that Vic has a low tolerance for pain. He says the jaw got broken early in the final round and he didnt even want to try to continue? Look at Lopez. His eye was closing and there is no way he would have quit. Victor is comfortable in life and he knows whatever happens he can tune up and rebuild. A fighter like Lopez? This is it. No tomorrow. He had to win and he did. It was a great back and forth fight. I'm glad the best man won. No BS scorecards involved. I was also very happy for Mattysse. Dude comes to fight. Gotta love a power puncher. Take it out of the judges hands. This is why we love boxing despite all it's warts. Two fights like these make up for alot of BS.

gZOTTIE says:

Surely GBP is going to try to go head to head with Martinez-Chavez with Lopez-Canelo? That's an abortion.

riverside says:

just got in !! what a fight, we knew if josesito could withstand the P@ssy backlash early we would be ok!!! Made him Quit.

deepwater says:

Great fight. Ortiz is done and he has a new daddy .mr Lopez

deepwater says:

Roast is right. Ortiz has a couple million and he has quit b4. After Ortiz punched Lopez in the back of the neck I was on my feet cheering for Lopez . The promoters should never announce the next fight before the first fight is settled. I don't like Ortiz style in there a little too dirty. This is boxing at its best though and these guys closed the show

Radam G says:

I know that the Roast. I heard exactly what the fighter said. That doesn't mean syet. VVO is not a doctor or a cornerman, just a caution, scary-arse fighter.

WAY! WAY BACK in da DAY, GOAT Ali told the referee that he was blind and couldn't see and couldn't fight. But did the referee didn't stop the bout? NO! I didn't think SO! The late GBGOAT Angie Dundee told the referee to fudge himself and told then Cassius Clay to shut da double fudge up and run like a bytch until his eyes CLEARED UP! And the REST is HISTORY!

And when the referee ASKED GOAT Ali did he want to continue against Larry Holmes, GBGOAT Dundee told the referee to fudge him and that he -- Angie -- was in charge and was stopping the FIGHT. Fighters are strong animals, this is why the head trainer is important to da max.

Yall need to understand BOXING. Danny Garcia STOPPED that bout, not VVO. He didn't have the power at that time. By the rules, a referee can only disqualify a fighter for not gettin' down -- not stop the bout. Only the doctor, the corner and the commissioner have that type of power. Check it out.

Fighters throughout history always wanted to quit, but 99 percent of the time the referee will look to the cornermen and quiz 'em before stopping syet. Don't take my word for it, just do some research. My jive is as solid as 15 rocks and as hard my big C***! Hehehehe! Holla!

SouthPaul says:

Victor most def made the call to quit. Wise move too but he made that call and he even said his "coaches" wanted him to fight on.

Joeesito should chase the paper. He should move up and challenge Canelo. Make that money, son, it ain't easy... get it while you can.

dino da vinci says:

Bring it down a notch with the inappropriate language and references.

Radam G says:

The corner stop the fight -- not Victor. When a fighter doesn't want to fight the referee DQs him. Victor was not DQed. Danny Garcia stopped that bout, PERIOD! The only people who can legally and officially stop the bout are a person representing the commission, the doctor, the corner and the referee.

A fighter can say whatever in the heck that he wants to, but he doesn't have the final say. How can you trust the judgement of somebody gettin' da hebejeebeez knocked out of him? The referee makes his own decision and/or consult with a commission representative, the corner or the doctor. No fair making up Internet jive.

On the night in question, the referee made that decision with the signal of trainer DG, not VVO saying that he jaw was broken. Making up Internet jive is why SHOWTIME had a poll about how much is media, mainly the internet, is influencing jive in da game. Cyberspace meddling and make-believe syet are coming HARD! Holla!

ultimoshogun says:

The obituary liar is officially done ha ha. Now who in the hell do y'all think is going to fight my boi Canelo?

Dan Rafael's saying Austin Trout will probly be Canelo's opponent on a regular Showtime card but are still down the road from finalizing the deal. I'm gonna have to youtube Trout and see what he brings to the table...I noticed Radam calls him a light puncher.

ultimoshogun says:

The obituary liar is officially done ha ha. Now who in the hell do y'all think is going to fight my boi Canelo?

Dan Rafael's saying Austin Trout will probly be Canelo's opponent on a regular Showtime card but are still down the road from finalizing the deal. I'm gonna have to youtube Trout and see what he brings to the table...I noticed Radam calls him a light puncher.

SouthPaul says:

Radam

Gotcha. It was Ortiz who made the decision to call it a night and it was Garcia who announced and relayed that info the ref. Like that of a public relations. Kim Kardashian makes it clear she wants South Paul in the worse way possible then has her Pr lackey announce it to TMZ. Lmao. But yea, gotcha...but truly.. Ortiz pulled his own curtain. You know wasssssup so no need to pull rank and get all technically difficult on the boxing brethren.

SouthPaul says:

Garcia also rushed Ortiz off to save him from any embarrassment. He wasn't just concerned about his broken jaw...That and not wanting the emotionally unstable Ortiz to run off the jaw saying something to offend And embarrass himself further. Garica was wise in that approach likely realizing Ortiz would be facing criticism for quitting. Yea, smart move. Keep it moving. Lol, have more room to stick your foot in your mouth once the swelling goes down.

deepwater says:

the bottom line is ortiz has 2 fathers day cards to get from now on. one for each daddy. madaina and lopez should get a cigar every fathersday from their lil brat. ortiz fought dirty and tried to take lopez out. lopez stood his ground and stood up to ortiz. ortiz quit again. ortiz stopped it not his corner. arthur abraham fought miranda 12 rounds with a broken jaw. no quit in him. once I told my corner my rib was broke and to stop the fight. i got slapped in the face by my trainer and told i got more ribs and shut up,and i sucked it up and won. sometimes your body wants to shut down but its usually a mental thing. it was my first broke rib and i kinda panicked in the corner about it. i think ortiz was looking for a way out and found what he was looking for.

SouthPaul says:

Ortiz is the Mexican Golota. Lmao

deepwater says:

lol. golota mastered the 6 punch combo to the nuts.lol. ortiz just likes to punch back of the neck then goes in for a kiss.

SouthPaul says:

Yup. Classic frontrunner melt downs. Someone mentioned Hopkins and he too had the same tendency at times. Did it all thru his career. Dirty and would act and fake it up with the best of 'em. Funny to watch a cat try to deceive you like that then try to fool you again by telling you ..you didn't really see that. Lmao

Radam G says:

Wow! Hehehehe! Just so that you guys will know. The powers that be are trying to deport Golota back to Poland. WTF! Dude has been in the States for 21 years plus gettin' on his to-the-cojones-shots. Holla!

Radam G says:

C'mon, SouthPaul, Kim K has Asian Fever for me. She told me that she would have her big bottom all ____ ____ ____ in my space if it were not for my ETW. Hehehehe! Holla!

SouthPaul says:

Lmao.

dino da vinci says:

Radam, he didn't tell the ref, he told Angelo to cut off the gloves, but Ange wasn't having it. Dundee cleaned his fighter's eyes the best he could, said something to the effect of "Kid, this is for all the marbles" and sent him out for the next round.

dino da vinci says:

Radam, he didn't tell the ref, he told Angelo to cut off the gloves, but Ange wasn't having it. Dundee cleaned his fighter's eyes the best he could, said something to the effect of "Kid, this is for all the marbles" and sent him out for the next round.

Radam G says:

But the referee was spying and hear that. I holla at the old film and saw Angie pushing and blocking out the ref. Just the same the referee was spying and heard what VVO said about that jaw. But he stop it after getting the nod from trainer Danny G. Holla!

SouthPaul says:

Spying... as in espionage KGB type stuff??? LMAO, that's the nugga' job. Ref for Ortiz vs Joesito did a splendid job. Truthfully, Joesito was about to get his Oscar winning act on until the ref finally was like, umnmm, not all that... get yo' *** up....dust and shake off... take a break but don't forget you got a fight to finish. Yea, job well done .... 4sho'.

Radam G says:

No! No! SouthPaul! It is not the referee's job to be all up in your corner up in your grill and meddling in your seconding biz. That is why they have an appointed sharp-eyed official in the corner between rounds watching for dirty jive, but not talking to you and interfereing in your converstation and instruction.

The referee's job is during the three minutes that the action is going on, not fudging with anything between a second and a fighter during the one minute of patch-up and stuff of the cornerpersons. Holla!

Radam G says:

BTW! I've even seen cornermen complain to the commission to tell the referee not to come to the corner fudging with the process or saying anything. They have and would even push the referee away from looking over their shoulders while working on a fighter. Holla!

SouthPaul says:

I've seen tha happen too but I also believe the ref has an all access pass to any and every where within the perimeters of all four ring post. Like 'da club passes Kimmy Kardashian hooked a friend up with.... The vip room...up and down stairs... The Cristial jacuzzi room me and her water-sported in...todo.... Evervvvvvvvvything (insert female Asian prostitute voice). Don't hold me that to the fullest cause the whack commission themselves may not even have a clear answer on that.